>>715925757
DMCfag here, went through all the ninja gaiden games recently and finished all difficulties.
I rank them as follows:
NGS > NGB = NG2 >> NG3 = NG2B >>>>> NG2S

>NGB
Really good action adventure game. It has a lot of good ideas and the way they took onimusha's soul sytem into something that incorporates directly into gameplay is amazing. Wall running is also a cool mechanic and it's a shame that DMC got rid of it after 2. The way enemy step works in this series is also great, it works well as a combo reset in DMC and works really nice in what they were trying to make but at the same time the way NG turns enemy step as an interrupt move to create openings while also giving iframes complements really well with the type of game it's trying to be. The weapon choices are really good, the balance may be out of whack but who cares about that shit in a single player game. The UF is also a really fun weapon and it's a shame they got rid of it just after 1 game.
A big part of the game is obviously trying to be an adventure game and while I do like the idea of a central hub that slowly opens up as you explore, some parts of the game like backtracking and puzzles really just suck. Also it's got a lot of stupid platforming sections that really should have been cut out from the game. Pretty much the same parts of DMC1 and DMC3 I didn't like.
As for the bosses, I actually like that some of the bosses felt like a puzzle game and gimmicky. Both versions of alma is annoying to fight though, mainly because of the inconsistency of FS and it took me a while to figure out that it's easier to fight her just baiting for her to come down for a hold y attack.
Also the camera is inexcusable piece of shit, and will occasionally get stuck.

Overall still really good despite my nitpicks.